José Moñú is a painter whose practice is inspired by a wide range of influences ranging from 20th-century titans such as Francis Bacon and Jean-Michel Basquiat to the writings of the British philosopher Richard Wollheim on mind and emotions especially as related to painting. Moñu creates large format and boldly colored works that mainly focus on portraying the individual affected by a society in crisis who is marked by isolation, burnout, and the incapacity of slowing down.
José Moñú has exhibited extensively in Spain and received several awards and scholarships including an Honorable Mention in the XXIII Painting Competition “Isabel de Aragón y Reina de Portugal”, the “Young Creators in the Plastic Arts” Scholarship award by the Government of Aragon and the XIX Francisco Padilla Painting Competition prize.
Spanish artist José Moñú presents recent works that he has completed during his 2021 residency with Residency Unlimited and Artists Alliance Inc. His characters are born out of everyday situations from everyday life. Their bodies are static while their heads are very animated, dynamic. This choice represents today’s way of life where we are saturated with information, which is especially true in large cities.
José Moñú’s residency is made possible through AAI’s ongoing partnership with Residency Unlimited and with support from Fundación CAI, the Consulate General of Spain in New York, and Qualery Culture (Coffee roasters).